The standard mechanism used to couple truck tractors and trailers includes a fifth wheel mounted on the truck or tractor and a king pin mounted on the trailer. The king pin extends downwardly from the trailer and has an annular groove located around the outer surface of the king pin. The fifth-wheel has a slot or a set of jaws that are adapted to engage the grooved king pin.
One of the most serious problems facing the owners and operators of such tractor-trailer rigs is theft of the trailer and all of its contents. Oftentimes these trailers carry thousands of dollars worth of goods that are subject to theft when left unattended. This problem is due in part because the trucking industry has standardized the coupling mechanism between the truck tractors and trailers allowing any truck or tractor having a fifth wheel to engage any trailer having a king pin.
In order to combat the problem of theft of large trailers, king pin locking devices and security devices have been developed to attempt to combat thievery. These prior locking devices are oftentimes undesirable because many of these devices are heavy, difficult and time consuming too install and/or remove, require use of multiple parts, which oftentimes are become separated or lost, and are expensive to manufacture. Thus, there is a need to overcome these disadvantages.